{"id":342017,"date":"2023-12-13T20:27:14","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=342017"},"modified":"2023-12-13T20:27:14","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:27:14","slug":"dog-debts-to-be-carried-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/12\/13\/dog-debts-to-be-carried-over\/","title":{"rendered":"Dog Debts To Be Carried Over"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dog owners who ignored their Council fees this year will have the outstanding amounts added to their next dog registration notice\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 13, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett dog owners who did not pay their annual dog registration fees on time this year will have the outstanding balance added to their next renewal notice.<\/p>\n

At Wednesday’s monthly general meeting, South Burnett councillors debated what they should do about the $72,000 in dog registration fees that remained outstanding. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Councillors were told the South Burnett’s animal management services cost about $1 million a year to run, and unpaid dog registrations usually amounted to about $40,000 per year.<\/p>\n

However, this year the number of unpaid dog registrations had almost doubled, possibly linked to the fact that no door-to-door inspections were carried out.<\/p>\n

Council officers recommended that outstanding amounts be added to renewal notices this year rather than being written off, something which had occurred on some other occasions.<\/p>\n

Acting Mayor Gavin Jones and councillors Scott Henschen and Kirstie Schumacher voted in favour of adding on the outstanding amounts.<\/p>\n

Cr Schumacher said she was worried that if the fees were written off, it would be setting the wrong precedent.<\/p>\n

Crs Jane Erkens, Danita Potter and Kathy Duff voted against the motion.<\/p>\n

Acting Mayor Jones used his casting vote to break the deadlock.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The structure of dog licence fees – and their enforcement – has been hotly debated over the past term by the SBRC.<\/p>\n

Dog registration fees collected by Council do not cover the cost of its animal management services.<\/p>\n

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